Knowing Jesus

I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. John 14:6

The Gospel

The Gospel

Gospel Introduction

The Gospel is actually taught throughout the Bible, however various parts of the Gospel are taught at various levels of detail in various books of the Bible, so it is a little complicated to just crack open your Bible and do a quick Gospel review. Gospel descriptions can easily be found on the internet and other prepared literature, however, BEWARE!! The Bible warns us about false teachers, and they are certainly out there today. Always verify Bible teaching (to include the content of this website) with your own Bible Study. Some Gospel descriptions are incomplete or watered down or even misleading.

In the days of the old testament, the word "gospel" meant the "good news". It later became associated with the specific "good news" of how Jesus Christ provided redemption for fallen man to a loving, all-powerful, holy and just God. This redemption is a free gift to those who will receive it, and it includes forgiveness, saving faith, adoption into God's family, and eternal life basking in the glory of the one, true, living God (plus a remarkable list of other benefits). But salvation only applies to those who believe in Jesus Christ and receive Him as Savior and Lord of their life. .

This website provides a description of God's plan of salvation whereby God makes redemption available to fallen and sinful man. Our redemption was accomplished by Jesus. The staggering love and sacrifice for us that He demonstrated throughout His redemptive efforts are literally beyond our human ability to comprehend. I BEG ALL PEOPLE to seek and receive redemption through Jesus Christ, because He is the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father, but through Him (ref John 14:6). This website is intended to be a resource for those with questions about Christianity and to help them see the urgency of understanding and receiving saving grace from Jesus Christ. I hope it will also be a good resource to help believers share the gospel with others.

The Free Gift

Our salvation was accomplished entirely by Jesus Christ and is offered to us (and MUST BE ACCEPTED) as a free gift. Our good works have absolutely nothing to do with our salvation. I explain this in greater detail below. Of course, Christians will perform "good works", but we start performing those good works AFTER we receive the FREE GIFT of salvation. You see, only after salvation can we do good works with proper motivation (being obedient and giving glory to God) such that those good works have spiritual value and store up for us treasures in heaven. Notice what Jesus says about our good work in Revelation 22:12, "Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done." The bible repeatedly teaches us to do the good works that God has mapped out for us, and we will be rewarded (especially in heaven, but probably in various ways on earth also) for our efforts.

To summarize that, the good work to attain our salvation was completely accomplished by Jesus Christ, and the scope of that good work was orders of magnitude beyond what we are capable of doing. After salvation, our efforts to follow through with good works are usually flawed and far from perfect, but we do store up reward for what we are able to accomplish.

Please don't make the critical error of comparing yourself to "bad" people and then conclude that surely you will go to heaven as compared to them. We must compare our lives to the sinless life of Jesus Christ who continually conducted Himself in the perfect will of God. In case there is any confusion, no one other than Jesus has come remotely close to living that perfection, so no one is remotely close to earning their way to heaven. To think that your good behavior gets you into heaven is a widely held misconception, and it is one of the most effective lies straight from the pit of hell that keeps people from entering the kingdom.

Our salvation was accomplished by Jesus Christ about 2000 years ago. He paid it all, and that battle has already been won, and He gives it to us FOR FREE. Exactly what He accomplished; why it was necessary; the human perspective of receiving salvation; and our transformation beyond salvation are all discussed below. Christianity is a relationship with Jesus Christ, the Creator, Master, and Lord of the universe. I beg you to PLEASE understand the Gospel, embrace a saving relationship with Jesus Christ, and receive eternal life.

Man's Desperate Condition

Everyone ever born has sinned, and the depths of our sin is always far worse than we realize. Our sin cannot be undone by good works. The wages of sin is death, and it is because of our sin that we do not deserve heaven, and we cannot earn our way to heaven. Apart from Jesus, ALL PEOPLE ARE CONDEMNED IN THEIR SIN!! God does not want than any should perish, but in God's perfect justice, He will render perfect judgment (which is eternal) for every sin ever committed. He gives us the choice (which is available our entire lives) to suffer the punishment ourselves or to believe that Jesus suffered our punishment on our behalf. Despite the fact that most people will choose to suffer the the punishment for their sin themselves, PRAISE GOD for His plan of salvation and the free gift of eternal life!

God Is Merciful and Holy

Please understand that there is only one, true, living, creator God, the God of the Bible including the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. All others are false Gods that cannot forgive sins and offer eternal life. The one, true, living God is loving and merciful and long-suffering while He endures our rebellion and our disobedience and our sin as He waits of us to turn to Him. God does not wish for any to perish (ref 2 Peter 3:9). However, God is perfect in His holiness and justice, and His perfect nature requires Him to punish sin appropriately. Simply forgiving our sin without punishment for the sin would be like a judge letting a criminal go free who is guilty of a serious crime. That would be unholy and unjust. The sin debt MUST be paid!! To our great fortune, God demonstrates His lavish love, mercy, and grace, by making provision to redeem fallen and sinful man to Himself and His kingdom. In other words, God has made provision for us such that we will not only NOT be required to suffer the eternal punishment of our sin, but we will also be restored to Him and get to enter His magnificent kingdom.

He Suffered our punishment on the cross

Jesus Our Savior and Redeemer

To satisfy God's nature to be merciful (to forgive and love us) and His requirement to be perfect, holy, and just (to judge and punish sin appropriately), God sent His only Son, Jesus, to earth in the form of a man to be crucified and suffer the punishment for our sin as our substitute. While still on the cross, Jesus proclaimed, "It is finished.", and at this point, the sin of the world (past, present, and future) was satisfied. It is important to know that only Jesus could perform this unimaginable task, because only the perfect (sinless) life of Jesus was a worthy sacrifice for our sins.

Jesus Lives and Forgives

On the third day after Jesus was crucified, God raised Him from the dead. This validates that Jesus defeated sin and conquered death. He was seen several times by the Apostles and also seen by about 500 other disciples. The resurrection of Jesus Christ proves that He is the way, and the truth, and the life (ref John 14:6). If all the religious figures over the course of history looked at me and said, "Follow me.", I choose to follow the One who healed the masses and proved that He conquered death.

And if we choose Jesus and confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness (ref 1 John 1:9). Only Jesus has authority to forgive sins in a manner that imparts salvation, because only Jesus paid our sin debt as our substitute. Because He paid our sin debt, Jesus is able to forgive our sins and maintain His perfect nature to be, holy, and just. God given forgiveness distinguishes Christianity from all other religions. All other religions require "works righteousness" (i.e. live a good life to earn your way into heaven), and those followers are tormented all their lives wondering if they were good enough. I have bad news for them. Without forgiveness from Jesus Christ, they were NOT good enough.

Only Believers Receive Forgiveness and Righteousness

Please know, Jesus does not automatically forgive everyone. He does not automatically forgive everyone who says, "Please forgive me". Jesus forgives those who believe in Him with "saving faith". This belief or faith is demonstrated by receiving Him as our Savior from sin and as Lord of our lives. I describe "saving faith" more below.

In addition to forgiving our sins, Jesus also gives us His perfect righteousness. Therefore, when we come before God, our sins are forgiven, and the record of our lives reflect the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ.

Christians are brought into God's kingdom and given eternal life in heaven, because:

  1. Jesus lived a perfect and sinless life thereby fulfilling the law and accomplishing righteousness
  2. Jesus gives us His perfect righteousness
  3. Jesus suffered the punishment for our sin as our substitute (paying our sin debt)
  4. Jesus forgives our sins

NOTE: It is particularly important to understand that every element of our salvation was accomplished in total by Jesus Christ. We did not do anything to contribute to salvation, nor is there anything we can do to contribute to our salvation. That is why salvation MUST be received as a free gift.

Receiving Salvation Through Jesus Christ

All the discussion above explained what Jesus did to save us from our sin as His role in God's plan of redemption for the human race. The driving question would then be, "What must I do to receive the free gift of forgiveness and eternal life?" In Acts 16:31, Paul says to the jailer, "...Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved,..." In Romans 10:13, Paul quotes from Joel 2:32 and says, "for "Whoever will call on the Name of the Lord will be saved."" Notice that, as a free gift, there is nothing that you can "DO" to be saved, but being saved requires a heart condition whereby you believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior with saving faith.

Understanding "Saving Faith"

After understanding that salvation is free, and it is received through "believing" with "saving faith", it is now important to have a better understanding of what it means to "believe with saving faith". Three discussion topics that help characterize saving faith are provided below.

  1. Believing with Knowledge. We must know what to believe. As stated above, we must know that Jesus is God the Son. Then, in love for us and obedience to God the Father, Jesus came to earth and accomplished what was necessary to redeem sinful man to Himself. Also, He gives redemption (salvation) freely to all who believe.
  2. Believing with Heart-felt Emotion. After knowing and believing the Biblical truth of God's plan of salvation, those with saving faith will be humbled and mourn over their sin given how undeserving we are to receive this magnificent gift of salvation. (note: Pride and self-righteousness are strong obstacles to saving faith. Our desperate need for a Savior, and our mountain of sin leave no room for pride and self-righteousness.) Despite mourning over our sin and falleness, we will also feel a unique joy knowing we have been brought into God's eternal kingdom.
  3. Believing with Willing Submission to Our Lord. Saving faith includes the understanding that JESUS IS LORD. He accomplished our redemption, and He has been given all authority in the heavens and on earth (ref Mat 28:18), therefore He has authority over us. Most people struggle with this, because we want to be in control. Consider these thoughts with corresponding Bible references. Jesus has a plan for us (ref Jer 29:11). His ways and His thoughts are higher than ours (ref Isa 55:8-9). Therefore, the rest of our lives should be characterized by following through with the good works that God has prepared beforehand, so that we would walk in them (ref Eph 2:10). For those who believe in Him with understanding about who He really is, submission is automatic. Not only is submission automatic, but we also realize that being in complete submission to Jesus Christ is the highest pinnacle of human existence.

Attaining Salvation through "Saving Faith"

As briefly mentioned above, being saved through "believing with saving faith" can also be discussed as having a saving relationship with Jesus. All the discussion above helps identify the nature of that saving relationship by defining:

  • Who Jesus Is: God the Son
  • What Jesus Did: Redeem us
  • Who We Are: His treasured creation
  • What We Have Done: Sinned and fallen away

We establish and build a relationship with Jesus the same as we build a relationship with anyone else, that is, we get to know Jesus by spending time with Him and talking to Him, and we do that through prayer and Bible study. For those starting a relationship with Jesus Christ or those seeking assurance of their salvation, I suggest you repeat God's plan of salvation back to Him in prayer by declaring;

  • You have sinned, your sin condemns you, and you need a Savior
  • You ask for forgiveness trusting in Jesus as your Savior, because
  • You believe that Jesus suffered your punishment; was crucified; died on the cross; was buried; and rose again having defeated sin and death
  • You understand that JESUS IS LORD, and you embrace an attitude of submission to His authority and His righteousness and His plan for your life

It's also helpful to grow your relationship with Jesus and grow your faith through communion with other Christians by joining a church and developing a smaller circle of close friends that are Christians.

Transformation of Believers

The Power of the Gospel

When we come to Jesus for salvation, we come with empty hands, because spiritually, we have nothing to offer. But at salvation we receive the indwelling Holy Spirit, and we are empowered by the Holy Spirit to overcome sin and grow and mature in our faith. Spiritual growth will happen in the form of becoming more like Christ. Romans 12:1-2 reads, "Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect." These are great verses to review often to help guide your life-long journey into higher levels of spiritual maturity.

Unbelievers Suffer Eternal Punishment

God's Justice is perfect. All sin debt will be paid. We all make a conscious and deliberate choice. Either we turn and follow Jesus thereby having our sin debt paid by Him, or we choose to pay that sin debt ourselves. All have sinned, and most people dramatically underestimate the sin in their lives. ALL PEOPLE WHO DO NOT ACCEPT JESUS AS LORD AND SAVIOR, DO NOT RECEIVE FORGIVENESS, AND THEREBY CHOOSE TO SUFFER THE ETERNAL PUNISHMENT FOR THEIR SIN!

PLEASE COME TO JESUS NOW! The Future is uncertain.

Receiving Jesus as Lord and Savior is singularly the most important thing anyone will ever do, and it is essentially the only thing in life that REALLY matters. Those who receive Jesus as Lord start eternal life now and continue eternal life basking in the glory of the one, true, living God in heaven. Those who don't....weeping..... wailing.....gnashing of teeth.....forever. There is no guarantee for tomorrow. There is no guarantee for your next heart beat. Please TURN TO JESUS NOW! It starts a process that will increase joy and peace in your life and will basically transform your life to become more and more like Christ over time. These things can only happen when you have faith in the one, true, living, creator God. But most importantly, for anyone who accepts Jesus as Lord and Savior, He gives us the free gifts of forgiveness and eternal life with Him.